By Sandra Agyeiwaa OTOO
PricewaterhouseCoopers Ghana (PwC), in partnership with United Way, has planted over 150 seedlings at the Association Community Basic School and La Yahoushua Junior High School in Accra as part of efforts to restore depleted vegetation and fight climate change.
The event forms part of Green Ghana Day celebrations, under the theme ‘Growing for a greener tomorrow’, and the United Way Environmental Sustainability Project which seeks to promote environmental awareness and sustainability.
The planting of trees also forms part of PwC’s efforts to contribute in government’s initiative of planting 10 million seedlings across the country. Some of the seedlings planted include acacia, Royal Palm, milletia and coconut, among others.
As part of the initiative, students were educated on how to handle, plant and nurture seedlings into trees, to imbue in them the essence of tree-planting.
Speaking to B&FT, the Inclusion, Diversity and Corporate Responsibility Leader at PwC, Clara Amarteifio-Taylor, said PwC is committed to advancing global sustainability practices and ensuring students maintain a clean environment, reduce plastic waste and use energy-efficient devices.
“As you all know, today is Green Ghana Day and the aim of Green Ghana Day is to have a greener environment for all of us. In PwC, sustainability is at the core of our global strategy; anything relating to sustainability, reuse and recycling is very important to the firm, and that is why today we’ve decided to not only support the Green Ghana initiatives by planting seedlings but also educate children about the environment, about the future, about the importance of trees in helping us prevent climate change,” she mentioned.
She noted that over the past few months Ghana has experienced some hot temperatures which were due to climate change, indicating that planting trees is one way to fight the phenomenon.
“I am sure all of us have seen in the last few months how our temperatures in Ghana have become hotter than normal, and its all because of climate change – so this is our own bid and effort to protect the environment,” she revealed.
She said there is a need for all Ghanaians to plant trees and nurture them until they mature for sustenance of the environment and mitigation of negative effects from climate change.
Mrs. Amarteifio-Taylor mentioned that over the next 12 months PwC and United Way Ghana will visit schools to establish environmental clubs, educating students on reusable materials, recycling and reducing single-use plastics.
The Executive Director-United Way Ghana, Faustina Abbey, said students will be educated on maintaining a clean environment and how they can contribute to recycling and upcycling efforts within their community.
She explained that students will receive training and tools to ensure the trees survive.
“We will be coming here once a month to monitor how the trees are faring and also ensure that the children are still equipped with the information they need in order to nurture the seeds,” she said.
The goal of Green Ghana Day, according to Dorcas Asiamah, District Manager, Greater Accra Regional Forestry, Office of the Forestry Commission, is to plant 10 million trees and promote environmental preservation – particularly among young people – in order to shield the environment from climate change.
“The national target for the year is to plant 10 million fruit/tree seedlings nationwide to contribute in the mitigation of climate change. Our main concern is nurturing the seedlings we are going to plant today. The seedlings can only reach maturity if we nurture them well by watering,” she stated.
Mrs. Asiamah said most people, especially the youth, did not know how to plant trees and nurture them; hence it is important to encourage them to cultivate the habit of tree-planting.
She called on Ghanaians to nurture the trees planted to ensure their growth and sustainability.
